Cob″web′ (?), n. [Cob a spider + web.] 1. The network spread by a spider to catch its prey.
2. A snare of insidious meshes designed to catch the ignorant and unwary.
I can not but lament thy splendid wit
Entangled in the cobwebs of the schools.
Cowper.
3. That which is thin and unsubstantial, or flimsy and worthless; rubbish.
The dust and cobwebs of that uncivil age.
Sir P. Sidney.
4. (Zoöl.) The European spotted flycatcher.
Cobweb lawn, a fine linen, mentioned in 1640 as being in pieces of fifteen yards. Beck. Draper's Dict.
Such a proud piece of cobweb lawn.
Beau. & Fl.
— Cobweb micrometer, a micrometer in which threads of cobweb are substituted for wires.